


the world comes [crashing in]

by onefootonego (startingXI)



Series: [borderline] strength of mind [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen, alternate take on the pilot episode, season one supergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 08:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startingXI/pseuds/onefootonego
Summary: alex’s mind is racing with the possibilities, but the longer she stares at the flames, the more keenly aware she is that what she’s living right now could be the last moments of her life.it’s a sobering thought.[or: a quick retake on the pilot episode]





	the world comes [crashing in]

**Author's Note:**

  * For [traceable](https://archiveofourown.org/users/traceable/gifts).



a phone rings. 

somewhere from the depth of a dream, alex danvers finds herself being pulled to consciousness. the room she finds herself in is remarkably unfamiliar, cast in shadows with minimal light filtering in through the blackout curtains drawn across the windows. she attention is drawn to her phone, buzzing its way towards the edge of the bedside table, a familiar number illuminating the screen. 

with one hand, alex reaches for her phone - and with the other she pulls back the covers exposing herself to the cool temperatures of, 

alex pauses and casts her mind back, trying to remember the name of the woman she came home with. the woman who, to alex’s pleasure, knew exactly what to do with her tongue. and her fingers. and then her tongue and her fingers. at the same time. 

the name comes floating to alex through the haze of a dull headache, 

_maggie._

alex steals a glance over her shoulder, at maggie still asleep in the bed, a tousle of dark hair all that appears from under the patterned duvet. the sight rings something uncomfortable in alex’s chest, and she looks away, before the feeling grows into something recognizable. 

her phone is still ringing. 

half naked, grabbing her skinny jeans, shirt and bra with one hand, and swiping to answer the call with the other, 

alex leaves the room. 

‘danvers.’ she murmurs, keeping her voice low, still keenly aware that she is in foreign territory and waking maggie would lead to conversations that, at this particular moment, alex doesn’t feel like having. 

_‘i need you to come in.’_

alex rolls her eyes, pinning phone to her shoulder with a cheek and attempting to shimmy into her jeans without dropping the phone ‘i figured that hank.’ alex glances down the hallway, back towards the now closed bedroom door - 

she sees no movement. 

‘what do you need me for?’ 

in between her question, and director henshaw’s response alex manages to wiggle her way into her jeans, which leaves only the all too inappropriate crop top to be flung on, and - 

alex spies her jacket on a hook by the front door. 

_‘you’re going to geneva.’_

‘again?’ alex masks her sigh - it’s not that geneva isn’t lovely this time of year, it’s that she had been eyeing her three day weekend with something like hope, and here she is, 

hopes dashed. 

_‘vasquez asked me to remind you of the’_ he pauses, recollecting, and danver’s stomach sinks _‘cleveland incident.’_

‘yeah, yeah.’ alex grumbles ‘fine. i’ll go. but tell them we’re even now.’ 

_‘you can tell them that yourself.’_

‘gee thanks.’ alex mumbles, setting the phone down on to the edge of the sofa as she pulls the crop top on. 

she can hear a tinny 

_‘your flight leaves at eleven thirty.’_

which means alex needs to get there for like, eleven at the latest. 

plenty of time. 

she picks up the phone again ‘do you need me to come in in, or can i skip the office and go home and pack?’ 

_‘you are free to go home and pack. i will have pam forward you the details of your flight.’_

‘thank you sir.’ 

it feels a bit strange, standing in this veritable strangers kitchen, talking to her boss at six thirty in the morning. yet here she is. 

the silence expands across the space as she pockets her phone, contemplating her next move. which throws alex for a loop because normally her next move is to vacate as soon as she possibly can. yet now, now she’s being struck with an urge to leave a note, leave, 

something. 

anything. 

it’s a feeling she’s not used too. not with girls she’s only just met. only just slept with. 

alex has to go, yet she’s torn. 

torn between wanting to apologise for leaving this early, leaving without saying, good-bye or good-morning or, 

something. 

it makes her uncomfortable, this sticky desire to stay. 

so she cops out, fishing a business card from her wallet and laying it out on the counter. 

good enough. 

right? 

she takes her jacket from the hook before she can think better of her actions, and disappears into the hallway. 

// 

alex knows she has to call kara. however considering the time kara would neither appreciate the call, not be awake enough to comprehend that alex is leaving for the weekend. alex opts for coffee first, knowing kara has an alarm that goes off in twenty minutes, and by the time she gets coffee, gets her bike from outside DTM and gets home, kara will be in a fit state to conversate. 

it seems that maggie lives in a, cute, part of town. a part of town with plenty of coffee shops, bright eyed barista’s behind the counter masking yawns with a hand. alex can relate. 

the first shop that catches her attention is one called bulldog, mostly because, true to name, there is a very fat, very happy looking bulldog, curled up just to the right of the doorway. he perks up when she walks in, and alex pauses for a moment to scratch behind his ears. 

‘he loves that.’ the barista, with a name tag that reads nadia, says with a tired smile ‘you’ll make his whole day.’ 

‘he made mine.’ alex says, and up to this point, that is not a lie ‘caramel latte please.’ she says, praying the barista doesn’t want her to pick her espresso bean. 

‘what size?’ 

‘large.’ alex says, probably a moment too quickly. 

‘one of those mornings?’ nadia asks with a wry smile. 

‘you could say that.’ alex agrees, and it’s now that she’s realizing it’s just the two of them. 

she’s noticing the way that nadia is smiling at her, taking in the expanse of skin between the bottom of alex’s crop top and her skinny jeans, biting her lip. 

‘it’s on the house.’ nadia says, as alex pulls out her card to try and pay ‘may your day get better.’ 

alex breaks into a genuine smile ‘it has now.’ 

there’s the not so quiet silence that filters between them as the sounds of the morning traffic and the steamed milk mix and mingle. it’s far too early, alex decides for no particular reason other than she’s tired and she’d rather be in bed. 

‘here you go.’ nadia says, passing the latte over the counter, ‘have a good one.’ 

‘you too.’ alex says, and she’s exiting into the morning air before she gets distracted all day by the dog. 

the walk to her bike is better now that she has coffee. now that she is starting to feel slightly more human. 

by the time she gets home, her bike safely retrieved from outside DTM and now parked in the underground parking lot of her own building, she feels more human, but also just as likely to fall asleep in the shower as emerge from it clean and ready for the day. 

it’s only the fact that she has to call kara that gets her through it, laying out on her bed and dialing kara’s number. 

it rings once.

twice. 

three times. 

four ti- 

_‘you’re up early.’_

‘i know.’ alex grumbles ‘work.’ 

_‘i thought they had given you the weekend off?’ kara asks, and alex can hear the soft morning radio playing in the background ‘you’ve worked almost every day for two weeks now.’_

‘i know,’ alex sighs, ‘believe me i know.’ 

_‘can’t you tell them you won’t go in?’_

alex snorts ‘i wish. but this is a conference. in geneva.’ 

_'geneva switzerland?’_ kara asks, a little disbelieving. 

‘mhm.’ alex confirms ‘got a call from my boss at six am this morning.’ 

_‘i’m worried about you.’_ kara says, and alex can hear her sitting down, can hear the radio volume dipping _‘you’ve been working too much recently. you’re going to get sick.’_

‘pshh.’ alex denies ‘i don’t get sick.’ 

_‘no,’_ kara says _‘i don’t get sick. you get sick and then deny that your sick.’_ there’s a pause and then _‘just, try and take some time off when you get back. how long are you gone?’_

‘four days.’ 

_‘i want chocolate.’_ kara says _‘and a snow globe.’_

‘don’t you have a snow globe from the last time i went?’ 

_‘had. streaky broke it.’_

‘of course he did.’ alex sighs, kara’s once feral, now only sixty percent feral cat, has a tendency to hate everyone and break everything. 

_‘don’t say it like that, he’ll get offended.’_

‘he already hates me.’ alex points out ‘can i offend him much more?’ 

_‘good point.’_ kara says _‘but please, another snow globe.’_

‘of course.’ alex says ‘chocolate and a snow globe. anything else?’ 

_‘movie night.’_ kara says _‘when you come back.’_ a pause _‘i miss you.’_

a pang of guilt swings through alex’s chest and for a moment she considers calling hank, telling him she can’t go to geneva on such short notice - but the feeling sinks with the realisation that this is the job she chose. the job kara doesn’t know the truth about. 

‘i’ll make sure i get some time off.’ alex reassures her ‘we’ll have movie night, we’ll go up to the mountains and do some hiking. okay?’ 

_‘you better.’_ kara says, a pause _‘i have to leave for work.’_

‘i love you.’ alex says ‘i’ll let you know when i land, okay?’ 

_‘mmm,’_ kara hums _‘snapchat me!’_

alex laughs ‘okay, okay, i will.’ 

_‘you better.’_ a pause, the sound of a fridge door opening, closing, then _‘i love you.’_

// 

the airport is crowded. 

alex is stifling under the number of people, the lack of seats near outlets and the excessive food prices. an unexpected storm has taken hold of national city, delaying flights and leaving alex feel trapped in the sprawling airport. uneasy amongst the crowds. more than that, she can’t help but think back to this morning - to waking up to the unfamiliar room that didn’t feel as strange as it should have. 

alex sets the feelings aside, determining that the she’s making too big a deal out of nothing - and anyway maggie hasn’t texted or called her so it can’t have been anything more than just a good fuck. 

another hour passes and alex finds herself snapchatting kara, who’s sitting at home eating take away and watching friends on netflix. she is also shamelessly gloating about it to alex. 

it’s a godsend when, at long last, her plane is called to board. 

her seat is a relief from the crowds of the airport and alex finds herself slipping her headphones until the moment they’re taxiing to the runway for take off. 

only twelve hours between her and switzerland. 

or, 

it was supposed to be that way. 

however just after take off alex is distinctly aware that something is wrong. at first it’s just a twisting in her gut after catching the expression of a flight attendant. she sees masked worry and hints of fear. 

maybe she just doesn’t like flying. or something. 

a few minutes pass and a subtle tension seems to be seeping into the plane. 

turns out it was the ‘or something’ that had the flight attendant nervous. 

smoke. smoke from the engine. thick black smoke and then an explosion of flames consume an engine and the panic that grips alex is suddenly unstoppable. 

she can’t tear her eyes away from flames that are licking at the wing of the plane. her mind is spinning with physics she doesn’t understand, trying to see a way where this can end calmly. where this can end with all of them applauding a brave pilot and crew, but disembarking with no lives lost. 

alex’s mind is racing with the possibilities, but the longer she stares at the flames, the more keenly aware she is that what she’s living right now could be the last moments of her life. 

it’s a sobering thought. 

a thought that distances herself from the present, from the crying and the screaming and the palpable fear. instead, she finds herself pulled back, not through memories, but through emotions. the fear of the moment is ever present, a current rippling through her,

but above the fear flitters hope, loss, love. 

she thinks about kara. her mom. her dad. kara. 

she thinks about kara. 

her dad. 

she thinks about kara. 

kara who’s lost so much already, who doesn’t to lose again. 

not like this, in what will likely be a ball of flames and scattered pieces crashing down into the city. 

alex’s heart is racing in her chest, thudding against her ribs so hard she thinks they might break. 

she’s scared. 

she doesn’t want to die. 

she doesn’t want to die like this. not with the truth of her work still a secret, still something alex aches to tell kara about. 

she closes her eyes, tries to take a deep breath but all she finds is the choking in her lungs and the volume on the plane being slammed up to eleven. 

she’s choking on tears that won’t fall, on fear she can’t subdue. 

there’s a second explosion. 

the plane shudders and groans and alex waits for it to rip itself apart and plummet to the ground. she’s bracing for it with white knuckle grip on the armrests, with breath frozen in her chest. 

the plane tips dangerously to one side. 

alex waits for the sound of shearing metal on metal. she waits for the cold night air to rush through the cracks in the broken plane.  
it never comes. 

instead, 

instead a flickering catches her attention outside the window. a flickering amongst the flames. she blinks once, twice, three times and - 

no. 

yes, but no. 

her mouth falls open, her gaze transfixed on the figure, the human shaped person currently keeping the plane level. except alex knows that is no human. 

she knows the truth. 

she knows her sister. 

kara. kara who looks at her, with fear, uncertainty in her eyes and then looks away and then disappears from her place on the wing. 

alex still isn’t breathing. 

the plane is still plummeting. alex isn’t sure that she didn’t hallucinate kara, a desperate act from a desperate mind. it has to be. 

except then the plane is righting itself. 

or, kara is steadying the plane. smoke and flames are still billowing from the engines, but no more are they fixed in some sort of death spiral towards the heart of the city. 

instead, 

well, it’s hard to tell through the mingling fear and uncertainty, but things seem like they might be o- 

they are lurching sideway, alex’s head slamming against the window. the woman in the seat next to her letting out another gut wrenching cry, books and belongings tumbling down onto alex and the passengers now tilting wholly sideways. she can see a bridge. can see the people, wide-eyed in their cars looking up at the plane. 

the plane on fire. 

their plane is on fire and it must be kara that is dragging them, 

across? 

through? 

the bridge and towards the water below. but alex can’t be sure. her mind is racing with the singular thought of kara. kara exposing herself. kara risking everything. 

kara. 

kara. 

the plane crashes into the water and alex can see the flames disappearing into steam. for a moment more it doesn’t seem real - the plane bobbing like a toy in a tub. the lights are flickering back on and people are breaking out into a smattering or relieved applause. 

alex can’t bring herself to clap. 

she can’t bring herself to tear her gaze away from the window. she’s staring out desperately trying to catch a glimpse of kara. of kara alive. of kara not trapped underneath the plane she saved. 

alex sees her. she spots kara clinging to the wing, drenched and gasping for breathe. 

it is only now that alex lets out her breath. 

now that she can see kara alive. 

but now a panic of a different kind erupts for alex because people are looking, people are trying to understand how they’re not dead and already people are seeing the figure in the water. 

the figure that is her sister. 

the figure that people are trying to take photos of. 

alex is trapped in her seat. 

kara is lingering in the water. 

time is slowing, 

slowing, 

slower still. 

alex watches as kara pulls herself onto the top of the wing, standing on shaking legs. 

the spotlight from a helicopter focuses on her - clad in black, hair hanging down around her shoulders, shoulders that rise and fall with each breath.

alex wants to tell her to run. 

to flee. 

to get away from here. 

and for a moment, alex thinks kara is going to stay. 

a moment more. 

alex has to ball her hands into fists just to keep herself from banging on the window. 

then kara goes. 

she disappears with a jump into the night sky, and alex can finally breathe. 

// 

 

getting from the plane to solid land takes the better part of an hour and a half. partway through alex nearly makes a break for it and swims to shore but she’s exhausted and cold and the water looks dark and murky - even with all the emergency boats and helicopters lighting up the area. 

so alex waits. 

she gets taken from raft to boat, to shore, to ambulance because 

‘that’s quite a cut you’ve got on your head there.’ 

which, 

she’s had worse. 

she wants to go home. alex wants kara to get here sooner, she can fly for fucks sake and now she’s stuck in traffic. it’s all alex can do to stay standing. 

she - 

‘alex?’ 

she looks up from where she’s leaning against the ambulance and sees, to her horror, maggie standing in front of her. maggie the woman she slept with last night and the woman whose apartment she snuck out of in the morning is also, apparently, 

a police officer. 

‘hi.’ alex says, reluctantly ‘i, uh -’ 

‘are you okay?’ maggie asks, moving away from the steady stream of people and closer to alex’s side ‘i mean - were you on the plane?’ 

alex nods.

‘are you hurt?’ 

‘no.’ alex says, defiantly. 

‘are you sure?’ 

‘paramedics said i’m clear.’ alex replies. 

‘do you need a ride home?’ 

‘my sister is picking me up.’ alex knows she should be saying more, but right now all she can think about is how tired she is. how her hands are still shaking and how kara saved them. saved her. 

kara. her sister. kara flew and righted a plan and saved hundreds of lives and - 

her phone rings. 

she looks down and sees kara’s face on the screen. 

it’s a relief ‘she-’ alex gestures down at the screen. 

‘oh,’ maggie says, stepping back ‘of course. i’m glad you’re okay.’ there’s a pause and then maggie’s attention is torn away from alex as someone shouts 

‘detective sawyer, over here.’ 

‘me too.’ is all alex can muster. 

_‘are you okay?’_ is the first thing kara says when alex answers. 

‘yeah.’ alex says ‘i’m okay. i’m okay.’ 

_‘are you sure?’_

honestly, no alex isn’t sure. she gets almost dead on a monthly basis, but there is something about this, about this plane crash and the nearly incapacitating fear that consumed her, alex can’t shake. 

‘where are you?’ is her response instead, which is enough of an answer. 

_‘as close as i can get.’_ kara says _‘exeter street and ninth.’_

alex knows the location ‘i can walk to you.’ 

_‘are you sure?’_

‘i want to go home.’ 

she needs to go home. needs to be away from the noise and the people and the barrage of emotions coming from every direction. 

alex starts walking. 

it takes her less than ten minutes to find kara, standing pressed against the police tape dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie. casual as can be. like she didn’t just save hundreds of lives. 

except as soon as she’s pulling alex into a hug, alex can tell kara is anything but casual. she seems to be vibrating with excitement. an excitement alex just can’t come to match. 

kara keeps an arm wrapped around her for the entire half mile trek back to the car and even through the numbness, alex appreciates it. 

she nearly died in a visceral way and all she could think about was kara. 

having kara here now, it helps alex feel steady. 

even as, 

‘that was stupid of you.’ slips from alex’s lips. 

she doesn’t mean to say them. not really. but they slip out before she can help it. 

‘stupid of me to not let the plane crash?’ kara asks, and alex can hear the disappointment in her voice. she doesn’t have to look at kara to know her shoulders have dropped, her grip on the steering wheel has loosened. 

‘to expose yourself.’ alex says ‘you could be found out. you could be -’ 

‘you could be dead.’ kara says , through an uprising of emotion that hits alex like a wave ‘you could be - i couldn’t let you…’ she trails off for a moment and alex tries to find the words to explain, 

but kara speaks again before she finds them 

‘i couldn’t let you die.’ 

‘you should have.’ alex says ‘to keep yourself safe.’ 

‘no.’ kara says, starting the engine and pulling out of her parking space. 

‘kara-’ alex tries again. 

‘not right now alex.’ kara says, her words stiff, both hands on the steering wheel. 

alex leans her head against the glass and closes her eyes. 

it’s far too easy to slip into a dreamless sleep.  
//  
she wakes up in kara’s apartment. in kara’s bed. 

alex can tell because the sheets are a pastel blue and soft and there’s the soft hum of the television a distance away. she rolls onto her back and lets out a long breath, unsure of the day, the time, or how long she’s been asleep. it feels like it could have been years. the events of the day, the night, feel an eon away. as if they happened to someone else. 

she can’t wrap her head around the fact that in the same day that she woke up in a stranger's bed was the same day that she nearly died. 

[although when she says it like that memories of college float to the surface in pieces] 

she thinks about maggie briefling. maggie the detective. maggie who was somehow, magically there. 

maggie who alex was incredibly rude to. 

alex sighs again and stretched out across the bed. 

her body aches. 

there’s a gentle knock on the door and kara is stepping in after alex murmurs a groggy

‘yeah.’ 

kara comes bearing a glass of water, and she sits on the edge of the bed ‘you should drink this.’ she says softly, tentatively. 

alex hates hearing her sound like this. as if she’s unsure if alex is still angry at her. 

‘thanks.’ alex says, reaching across and taking the glass. 

three long sips later she looks over at kara ‘i’m sorry.’ a pause. ‘for what i said earlier.’ she pauses again, she still feels emotionally and physically drained - the words are slow and sticky on her tongue ‘you saved my life.’

‘of course i saved your life.’ kara replies ‘alex, i - in no universe do i let you do. not when i have the ability to try and save you.’ 

alex swallows hard, emotions swelling. she reaches for kara’s hands ‘thank you.’ she mumbles, but the words are thick with tears. 

kara takes alex’s hands, letting alex pull her up the bed ‘i know where you were coming from though.’ she says carefully ‘about me exposing myself, but i - i had to. to save you.’ 

‘i know.’ alex says quietly, 

and she knows something else. 

she knows that she can not keep her life a secret from kara, not any more. not after this. kara risked everything for her, and alex wants, needs her to know the truth about where she works, who she works for. 

it’s sometime later when she’s able to send a message to hank 

we need to talk. 

and it’s sometime after that when, 

a phone rings.

**Author's Note:**

> y'all i thought i was done writing for supergirl, i haven't written supergirl in a very very long time so forgive me if i'm a little rusty. 
> 
> this is entirely a) chyler's fault because how dare she with that haircut and b) ontari's fault because she was bored at work and we got to headcanoning. so here we are.


End file.
